Vilnius Cathedral Basilica / Vilniaus arkikatedra bazilika (Lithuania) - Philatelic Photographs on Waymarking.com

This Lithuanian post stamp issued in 2006 depicts the Vilnius Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Stanislaus and Vladislaus (Vilniaus Šv. Stanislovo ir Šv. Vladislovo arkikatedra bazilika), one of the key monuments of Vilnius and also the spiritual centre of Roman catholic Church in Lithuania.

The Cathedral, located on the Cathedral Square in the Vilnius' historic centre, dates to around 1419 but it was many times rebuilt in the following centuries. Its present Neo-Classical design is the work of the Lithuania’s architect Laurynas Stuoka Gucevicius (1753-1798), who was also responsible for a number of other notable buildings in the city including the Town Hall. The rather plain nave betrays eleven chapels, among them the must-see High Baroque Chapel of St. Casimir (1458-1484), Lithuania’s patron saint. Built in 1636 to house his remains, the chapel is one of the Lithuania’s national treasures. The three statues of Sts. Stanislaus, Helena and Casimir on the roof, supposedly representing Poland, Russia and Lithuania, are copies of the 18th-century originals which were destroyed during the Communist regime in 1950, when the church was confiscated and used several years as an art gallery (and even as a car repair workshop...). The Cathedral was returned to the Catholic Church in 1988 and re-consecrated on February 5th, 1989.